CALLING OUT THE LIES WE BELIEVE

Have you ever made a list of pros and cons for a decision? I have. And my observation/experience is that most of the time, the pro side is filled with little white lies of promises no one can back up. As I thought about it today, I thought that maybe what we should do is instead of labeling the list “pros” and “cons”, what if we made a list called “truths” and “lies”.

My experience says there a lots of lies that have subtly walked into the room and someone needs to have enough guts to call them out.

You know that voice in your head that says you’re a loser. Yeah, that’s a lie.

The one that says if you married so-and-so your life would be better. Yup, that’s a lie.

The one that says there is a marriage that is not work to keep going cuz they are just so ridiculously in love it comes naturally and birds sing and they live in the land of Disney. Seriously people? That’s a lie.

The one that says some other family has perfect kids. Liar.

The job where you make a million bucks a year and never work before 9am or after 3pm. Lie. Lie. Lie.

The one that says if you made a million bucks a year you’d be happy. Ok, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you that I really want to try this lie out to see if I’m right. Like a million dollars a year sounds like it would solve all my problems. But I’m pretty sure. It’s a lie. I know a guy who got a divorce and he makes a million bucks a year and has to pay a crap load of it in alimony. He’s not happy about it. Guess it must be a lie.

The one that says changing churches will fix your problems. Bummer. It’s a lie.

The gym equipment that will motivate you to work out. Ut oh. You smell the lie right?

That hero of yours that you’re pretty sure your life would be awesome if you walked in their shoes. Bad news. You’d hate it. It’s a lie.

The new thing that will make everything easier for you once you get it. Don’t buy it. It’s a lie.

But just cuz they are all lies, doesn’t mean we don’t secretly think somewhere, somehow, in some crazy world or just down the street or in someone you know’s house, well in there, that thing you know is a lie is somehow true for them. But nonetheless, it’s still a BIG FREAKING UGLY LIE!!!

I watched The Help again last week because I taught on it during our God at the Movies series in Encounter. My task in teaching was to ask God if there was anything redemptive in the movie that aligns with Scripture. Yes there are some obvious ones- like about race and equality. But as I watched this film, I realized so many people in it had been lied to. Blacks had been lied to. Rich white people had been lied to. Lies are everywhere and on a real deep level in this film. One thread that runs through the film that is not about race is actually about beauty and value. It’s the lie that is told to every girl – in her head she’s got a voice that says she’s ugly…. Every girl! In this film, it’s the plight of even the white girls. So I pulled on the thread of the lies we believe and called them out.

Constantine says the same thing that Aibilene tells the little girl she’s a nanny for. “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” You’re gonna do something BIG! Everyone of those statements is contrary to some lie little girls get told. Every freaking one of them. This scene I embedded has the quote in it, but it must be an out take or something, cuz it’s not in the film. But I still Love love love love this quote from the movie regardless.

Go ahead. Call some fictitious voice in your head a LIAR today. You’ll sleep better if you do. I promise that’s not a lie.